Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Let's Talk - New Years

I had so much fun doing Favorite Things with Erika last year and am looking forward to our new series - Let's Talk.


When we shared the graphic a few weeks ago, several of y'all mentioned that the font was hard to read - well, I heard you :)  Here's an updated version for your planners!


So today's topic is New Years and a few weeks ago I "reintroduced" myself and shared an amazing post by The Hands Free Mama that spoke to my heart and became by own personal vow for 2016.  Lots of you said it spoke to you as well, so if you wanted to print it off you can right click on the two pics below, save and print on a regular sized piece of paper :)



So good, right???

So - I'm going to kind of cheating today and instead of talking about 2016, I'm going to talk 2015 since I never did my yearly recap!

We spent the early part of 2016 welcoming a sweet new puppy into the family...


  ... and a precious little girl into our "framily" :)




The kiddos did their "look how cute we are" thing :)



And I chopped off and donated a bunch of hair.  #mandastrong
 I chaperoned Luke's very first field trip...

 

... Mason went on his first MCA interview...


... and I intercepted Luke's first thank you note to an author ;)


We celebrated all things love...


... took silly bathroom selfies...


.... and I turned 31 alongside my favorite people in the world.
  

 Jack Bauer continued to grow...


... we got a blanket of snow...



.,.. and we had a superhero in disguise in our midst ;)


 Spring sprung and we spent lots of time keeping it real outside...


... and in.


There was kissing...


 ... and playing...


 ... and lots and lots of strolling.


 There were several epic moments...


... and silly ones too ;)


 We swam...


... and slept...


... and smiled BIG.


Luke was baptized (amen!)...



... and we celebrated his 7th birthday with a Minecraft party.


 Easter was chilly...



... and colorful...


 ... and we worked in the yard A LOT.
  

 GG channeled her inner Elsa...


... and had the sweetest cupcake second birthday party.



We sent our Anna Grace off to Prom...


... and danced our way through Spring.


Mason had a serious moment...


... and we celebrated his fourth birthday with the Knights of the Round Table.


We danced the night away at Drew and Amy Jo's wedding...


 ... celebrated Luke earning the award for  faithfulness at school...


 ... and I was blessed with the opportunity to meet an amazing woman.


 We had Spring pictures taken...


... and wrapped up the school year with the cutest graduation there ever was.

  

 The first part of summer was spent supporting friends...


... and spending a special day with our big guy.


 

Summer means WATER and we kicked it off right!



... including the best swimwear :)


 We had family book club days...


... and shopping days...


... and swimming lesson days.


We spent a LOT of evenings on the golf cart.  Exploring and having so much fun!



  


 We made messes...


 ... and Lego battles...


... and a plethora of crafts.

 

 Luke went to golf camp...



... we went to the fourth of July parade...



... and we went to the museum.  A lot. 


Mason and Luke were both in musicals..




... these two were besties...


 ... and all three of them were grouchy when we made our ladybug crafts ;)


As summer wrapped up we left the heat of Texas for the mountains of Vail and made countless memories as a family.


  

  


  
  
  
  
 

School started and I got to take TWO little mustangs with me!
  

 Griffin started her dance class...


... Luke started soccer...


... and Mason started stealing hearts at school :)

 

Griffin rocked some piggies...



 ... and a tutu with a top knot ;)



My boys got handsomer by the day...


 ... and another handsome boy joined our family ;)


Luke got to hold the Christian flag at See You At the Pole...


... while these two played for DAYS with a box.  #simplepleasures
  

Griffin and I had some mommy and me time...


... and we got the BEST school pics of all time.


We got festive up in here...


 ... and celebrated all month with lots of costumes...


... lots of friends...


... lots of pumpkins...


... lots of fun...


,,, and lots of candy.


We released our turtles back into the "wild"...


... Luke ran like wild in the schools Jog-A-Thon...


... and we went wild when we started Thanksgiving break :)


We kept thanksgiving comfy...


,,, and crazy!  


And then the holiday traditions started with a bang.


We visited the Gaylord...



... and made gingerbread houes.


Both boys received awards for being joyful...


 ... we had a joyful morning (hahaha) doing our family photos...


.. and the kids elfed themselves.


We visited Santa...


 ... had our fair share of Christmas programs...


... and cheered for our tiny dancer at her first recital.


We ended the year celebrating  Christmas as a family.  Perfection.



2015 was amazing and 2016 has a lot to live up to.  I'm looking forward to lots of time as a family and quality time with friends.  To celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and watching our friends families grow.  To pool days and cool nights and watching the kids do the things they love.

Congrats on making it through my longest post of the year :)  I can't wait to read about your goals, resolutions and plans for 2016!  It's going to be a great one!

   
    http://www.inlinkz.com/new/view.php?id=601823" title="click to view in an external page.">An InLinkz Link-up
   

39 comments :

  1. Whew!!! Girl-you were busy in 2015! I was amazed at how much G's hair grew!!!

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    1. Right?!?! I wonder how much it's going to grow this year!

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  2. Eeks! I love a recap!!! I'm so glad you did a post looking back on 2015. It was such an amazing year for your sweet family!

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    1. It was! And I can't believe I almost missed doing one! :)

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  3. Well, somebody was busy in 2015!!!! Fun walk down memory lane with oodles of cute pictures!

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  4. I love the recap! What a fun year you all had! I am printing the Vow from Hands Free Mama, I think we all need to read that message sometimes. Thanks for posting!

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    1. Yes ma'am! I have it up on the bulletin board in my closet. Such a great reminder!

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  5. I love the recap! I have wardrobe envy over everything G wears... loving your link ups too:)

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    1. Me too! I want to be GG when I grow up :) hahaha Thanks!

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  6. Aw! What a year!! Can't wait to watch 2016 unfold for your family! Xoxo

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  7. I absolutely love your blog! The way you love your family makes me want to be a better mom and wife! Thank you for sharing!!! You are inspiring!!! :)

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    1. Best. Compliment. Ever. I definitely fail DAILY, but we sure do love each other a lot.

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  8. Love this new link-up series! I can't wait for summer day trips with my family this year!

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    1. Thanks, girl! Summer day drips sound wonderful right about now!

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  9. Whoah, what a year and what a post!! Wishing you a great 2016!!

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  10. It's always so much fun to look back on the previous year.

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    1. Isn't it?!?! I read through almost my entire blog - which was CRAZY - but so much fun!

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  11. That was so fun to look through! I hope 2016 is just as much fun for you guys! :)

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  12. What a great year for you all - may 2016 bring as much joy! Thanks for hosting this fun link-up!

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    1. Thanks, girl! I hope so too! And you're more than welcome!

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  13. This was so fun to read! I kept up with your blog all 2015 so it was a nice recap. Ohmygoodness Griffin grew so much over the year!!

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    1. Didn't she?!?! It makes me sad to think about how big she'll be this time next year!

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  14. What a great recap post. You guys did so many great thing! Fun to look back on! Great new series, going to write all these down. thanks!

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  15. Great photos of your year. It's always fun to look at the memories you make with your family. Thanks for having this fun link up. Have a wonderful day.

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  16. When are you planning on talking about the fact that you promoted for Crystal Faye and she hasn't fulfilled orders as promised or issued refunds?

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    1. I am so sorry that people haven't received what they ordered from Crystal. I am super picky about who I promote with and for and Crystal has always had a reputation of being prompt and producing great products. Unfortunately she's had a health crisis and has had to turn her business over to interim people for the last couple of months. The people who have emailed me about orders/issues I've texted Crystal about immediately and their issue(s) have been resolved by the girls handling the orders. If you have an order you'd like me to text her about I'll be more than happy to do that.

      I've done everything in my power to help people get their situations with her figured out and absolutely hate that this has happened. Please don't hesitate to email me (dave-and-andrea@hotmail.com) and I can text Crystal and she can get in touch with the girls who have been handling things for her. Thank you!!!

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  17. I loved this, Andrea! Such sweet memories for 2015 and many, many more to make in 2016. Bless you!!

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  18. Is it weird that I got teary eyed reading this? Your family is so sweet!

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  19. Loved this recap! Your family is precious and I love how much you love spending time together!

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  20. What a joyous year! Cheers to another fun-filled year :)

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  21. Your family is so sweet! I love that you seem to soak in every moment with your kiddos! You are a great mom! :)

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  22. Always love your family pictures! Happy to report I remembered most of this...but somehow totally forgot about you chopping your hair!! Thanks for hosting....your series are always some of my very favorites.

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